Grandpa Ron and I have been traveling every weekend for almost two months! I hope it won’t be so long between posts from now on, but I’m not sure if the traveling is going to settle down soon or not! We experienced first-hand a wonderful family place for those of you in the Madison, Wisconsin area.
We discovered a fun and FREE zoo when we were in Madison two weekends ago for my niece’s wedding. It is called the Henry Vilas Zoo. We got some great pictures!
For the 5k/10k runners and walkers reading this – on Sunday, September 25th at 10 am, the 6th annual Zoo Run Run (a 5k/10k walk and run) will take place past the zoo and through the beautiful Vilas neighborhood.
Here are some videos on the zoo website. The first one is a tour of the zoo.
I’ll post some more photos below.
Seems like the polar bear is saying, ” I forget… Do I even like carrots?”
The promise of another train ride is what prompted us to visit the zoo. However, in our usual fashion, by the time we meandered around the zoo and found the train, the train was already being put to bed for the night. Oh, well, maybe we’ll get another chance some other day! This is a beautiful zoo and a wonderful outing for the famly!
Six brand new, quail-egg-sized baby quail huddled very close together under the bush last weekend. These individual babies are almost impossible to distinguish from the bark shavings and dirt and each other. Do you see them? Once you see the heads in the one picture, if you go back to the other pictures, you can tell head markings from wings and backs. Have some fun! Then there are a few pictures of older babies and their parents.
You are in for a treat if you haven’t done this before — you should check out the the Washington DC fireworks on PBS Television on the Fourth of July! The last two years were just AWESOME!! PBS TV runs the program live and then re-runs it again for those who missed it! Here is the link: http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/
Grandpa Ron calls it a grandparent’s book. I call it a children’s book. Read it and decide for yourself! The kids enjoy talking about the activities and details in the pictures. The adults remember their own special moments – either as kids with their grandparents or as grandparents with their grandkids. Dads and moms get their own flashbacks, too!
The Marble Bluff Fish Passage Facility is located near Nixon, NV at Marble Bluff Dam, on the delta of the Truckee River where it ends at Pyramid Lake. The Cui-ui are spawning in large numbers this year. This endangered sucker fish is found only in Pyramid Lake in Nevada. There is a series of locks, ladders and bypasses to help the fish get up the Truckee River to lay their eggs. Jeff Delong of the Reno Gazette-Journal has a front page article With cui-ui thriving, the whole river teems with several great photos – one with a whole flock of white pelicans waiting for the fish to fly out of the water right into their mouths…well, almost! This year may be a record run thanks to all the winter snow we had.
There are several you-tube videos of the fish ladders from last year’s run. Here’s one. When it is done it will show you more choices as well.
One fun weekend project you could have with your young family members – if you are in the Reno/Sparks, NV area – is to make a bird house from an ‘easy’ (or a ‘more complex’) bird house kit available for purchase at Rail City Garden Center at 1720 Brierley Way in Sparks. They also had a blog post on building bird houses. Here is some on-line help from Birdwatching-Bliss and kits from Bird Watching Now.
Do you have a child who is crazy about horses?
Have you always wanted to ride?
Did you ride when you were a kid and are now ready to ride again?
Have you ridden all your life and still love it?
Come join the fun with a horse-filled day!
Watch demonstrations!
Meet riders, trainers, veterinarians and farriers!
Learn about everything equine on the hill!
This event is FREE for all horse lovers!
The horse community on the Palos Verdes Peninsula offers something for just about every equine enthusiast – from a one-time trail ride to riding competitively – and everything in between! It is all there!
They offer:
Summer pony camps for kids 3 years and older
Scenic trail rides
Pony clubs
English riding lessons
Western riding lessons
Dressage riding lessons
Horses to lease
Junior/adult drill team
Western events (cutting,roping, penning)
Horse shows
Tack sale
For more information contact Kelly Yates at jerseyj2@cox.net or 310-704-7226.
Grandpa Ron and I really had a great time working the stands and greeting lots of people at the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach this last weekend. As volunteers and members of the Committee of 300, we stamped people’s tickets and hands as they entered Grandstand 30 – the grandstand at the start/finish line. We were so busy helping people get to their seats we missed the transition from driver intros to the actual race!
On Saturday, Grandpa Ron’s favorite story was about a 9 year old boy who wanted to see the race cars up close because he painted them and he loves the race cars. So Grandpa Ron directed him to where he could go see them up close in the convention center at the Lifestyle Expo. A couple hours later the family came back and the Dad with a BIG smile gave Grandpa Ron the thumbs up. So they had clearly found the race cars!
Here’s a description of the Lifestyle Expo from the Visit Long Beach Calendar:
“Those looking to take a pit stop between races over Grand Prix weekend can check out the Lifestyle Expo for a variety of family-friendly activities. The expo, which runs April 16-18, features 270,000 square feet of exhibit space and more than 150 displays with the latest in automotive, home, recreation and travel products. At the Expo Arena, action sports fans can get an up-close encounter with race cars and motorcycles, operate remote control drift cars and see high-speed bikes and skateboarding demonstrations. Children can check out the Family Fun Zone for interactive games, race car simulators, a video arcade and more. Music lovers might enjoy a new addition to this year’s festivities. The Arena Jamm, a three-day music fest, will kick off inside the Long Beach Arena with about 20 Southern California bands. Each day will feature eight 30-minute concerts. …. The Green Power Prix View will feature weekend-long displays of the latest alternative energy vehicles including the Toyota Prius, Smart car, K1 Electric go-karts and the Novakinetics Electronic Performance Motorcycle. From a tankless water heater to energy efficient windows, those interested in green technology can see dozens of examples of renewable energy sources. The Lifestyle Expo is free to all Grand Prix ticket holders.”
Here are some fun Facebook photos from the Committee of 300 page.
Whew! What a day at the track! It was great fun checking it all out. Tomorrow will be harder because we’ll be actually working in the grandstands for half a day – actually for both Saturday and Sunday. We escaped the warm weather and cooled down a bit by going through the Lifestyle Expo in the convention center. Then we were back in the sun for the rest of the day. Watching the cars is great but noisy! Here is a great video of what it’s like from inside a car going around the track!
If you are in the area and want to check it out, here is the schedule (although it is noted that it is subject to change). PDF version is here.
Saturday from 8:55 – 9:20 a.m. Team Drifting Demonstration will be held. Grandpa Ron and I like to watch the drifting because we met some of the drivers two years ago. The Celebrity Race is also tomorrow from 11:40-12:40.
Ticket info is here. Almost all (if not all) the special value-added tickets have been sold out except for the Paddock Club, which is operated by the Committee of 300. Once fans are inside the circuit, they can get day tickets for the Paddock Club.
It’s time to get to sleep in preparation for the rest of the weekend! What fun!
Today’s Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival parade did go on as planned, thanks to the terse last-minute budget agreements made last night. Other sources said it would have gone on anyway. Here is a list of family activities for the festival – which is officially over tomorrow, but the trees don’t know that! They are so gorgeous in full bloom! The family activities can happen any time, too! Next year will be the centennial celebration of the festival in Washington DC. Plans are already in the making for the extra special 2012 event.
There are cherry blossom festivals all over the world, of course, and here is a selection of photos of beautiful photos.
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MyGrandmaSue 